Providing protective gear, for personnel, equipment and components has evolved significantly over the years. The practice of equipping machinery or personnel with shielding, armor or other protective materials has proved useful in preventing or reducing the extent of injury, preventing or minimizing damage to tissue or components, and providing for a robust capability to continue uninterrupted operation. For example, many materials that are exposed to potential damage in the aerospace industry or in other environments where significant concussive forces are encountered may use protective gear to extend component life and improve operation. Electrical and/or mechanical components that may otherwise be subjected to harsh conditions under normal or casualty situations may also benefit from shielding provided by protective gear.
In the past, the strength and weight of materials often became the focal issues of concern in relation to development of protective gear. In this regard, for example, design concerns often focused on striking a proper balance between the amount of protection that could be provided and the amount of mobility or flexibility that could simultaneously be afforded.
Modern protective gear designed to minimize or prevent damage from shrapnel and other projectiles has been developed. However, concussive forces associated with explosions, propulsive forces or other impacts are also a significant concern. To address the need for providing protection from concussive forces, acoustic metamaterial has been developed. However, construction of acoustic metamaterial has remained a relatively complex and difficult problem. In particular, although small amounts of acoustic metamaterial may be fabricated, it is often difficult to produce metamaterial with flexibility in terms of the amount and form factor of the material produced to make it practical for use in real-world applications such as noise management and vibration isolation applications in aerospace systems (e.g., airplane cabins, helicopters, satellites, rocket fairings and/or the like) and other areas. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a more practical acoustic metamaterial and corresponding fabrication approach.